SNAPPED!

Snapchat forced to delete ‘racist’ filter that makes you ‘break slavery chains by grinning’

SNAPCHAT has been forced to apologise for an offensive Juneteenth filter.

The tech giant removed the tone-deaf lens that was brought out for the US holiday that celebrates the emancipation of those who had been enslaved.

The filter caused widespread offence because it encouraged users to smile to break some floating chains on the screen.

People instantly took to Twitter to share their thoughts, which were largely negative.

A tweet from Mark S. Luckie gathered widespread attention after he posted a video of how the filter worked.

He wrote: "This Snapchat #Juneteenth filter is...um...interesting. Smile to break the chains? Okay then."

Snapchat soon responded to the backlash with this tweet: "We deeply apologize for the offensive Juneteenth Lens.

"The Lens that went live hadn't been approved through our review process.

"We are investigating so this doesn't happen again."

This has left many questioning whether Snapchat as a whole has enough diversity.

The filter also showed the Pan-African flag in the background with chains floating above.

Like other Snapchat filters, it relied on augmented reality (AR) to add animation to a users face.

Here's what you need to know...

Snapchat, or Snap, is a multimedia messaging app available around the world
It was created by former Standford University students Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy and Reggie Brown
The first version of Snapchat was released in September 2011
The main feature of Snapchat is the ability to send self-deleting photos, videos and messages
These digital missives will wipe themselves from a recipient's phone after a short time
Snapchat also offers "Stories", which allow users to share content visible to multiple users – but that vanishes after 24 hours
As of 2019, Snapchat has around 190million daily users

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